Shocktoberfest's Naked and Scared challenged

On NBC's "The Tonight Show" Tuesday, Leno told the audience that the town of Sinking Spring was offering a naked haunted house.

At select times, Berks County's Shocktoberfest plans to allow guests 18 and older to go through its Unknown Haunted House nude or "prude" - only wearing underwear. The news hit national and international media outlets.

But as Shocktoberfest's owner takes phone calls from as far as Scandinavia, he's also trying to make sure the attraction everyone's talking about actually happens.

Shocktoberfest kicks off Friday, and owner Patrick Konopelski said he is still trying to find out if his guests can be legally naked.

Sinking Spring borough zoning and police officials met with Konopelski Monday, and zoning officer Michael Hart said nude entertainment is not permitted in the residential area along Park Avenue.

Time is ticking. Konopelski still doesn't know if his customers can be naked on the Spring Township portion of his property.

He told Spring Township zoning officer Aaron Wozniak on Wednesday that he'd like to have "Naked and Scared" in the township. Wozniak said the request can't be evaluated until Konopelski submits a written application with all the details.

Konopelski was still working on the application Wednesday afternoon.

"It's obviously stressful," he said.

If Spring Township officials deny Konopelski's application, he plans to hold "Naked and Scared" in Sinking Spring, even if that means wearing underwear and participants aren't totally nude.

"Worst case scenario, it's the prude option," Konopelski said. "But we want to give the people what we've been telling them."

Konopelski said he got the idea for the nude haunted house from Discovery Channel's hit show, "Naked and Afraid."

Part of the challenge of running a 22-year-old scare park is coming up with new and exciting ways to scare people every year, Konopelski said.

"This has never been done anywhere else in the world," he said of the naked haunted house. "With this option, we thought we could actually scare people more easily with people being more vulnerable. People have a fear of being naked and being in a haunted house."

Sinking Spring Police Chief Lee K. Schweyer said he's received several complaints a day about the naked haunted house since word got around a few weeks ago.

"It's been the talk of the town," Schweyer said. "It's something I never experienced as a police officer and now as a police chief."

Schweyer and Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams both had concerns that a naked haunted house could lead to inappropriate and dangerous activity.

But there doesn't seem to be anything in the state crimes code that would prevent Konopelski's plan, according to Adams.

Konopelski said all the appropriate safety measures are in place and absolutely no sexual misconduct, inappropriate or disrespectful behavior will be tolerated. Guests have to show ID to prove they're 18, he added, and security workers will be on hand with radios. Police will also be on the scare park grounds, but won't be stationed in the haunted house.

According to the Shocktoberfest website, those stripping down will get undressed in a "semi-private pre-show building," run through the haunted house, and then exit to a fenced courtyard where they can get dressed. The undressed guests wouldn't be in view of minors or customers who aren't participating, the website states.

Konopelski said he never expected to hit roadblocks this far along in the process. He said he pitched the idea to his attorney a few months ago, but was told there were no problems.

Konopelski said he doesn't understand why a naked haunted house is even an issue in America.

"We're trying to give people the ability to enjoy the rights of an American," he said.

But if the underwear has to stay, maybe Konopelski can convince Jay Leno to come out in his tidy whities or whatever the big guy wears. He didn't sound too thrilled about the birthday suit option on "The Tonight Show."

"Have you seen what most Americans look like naked these days?" Leno said. "This is probably the only haunted house where the ghosts are more frightened than the visitors."